And a plot twist we should have seen coming

You may have noticed an uptick in the bullshit coming from the recent press briefing (a situation that's gotten so bad that there's a heated journalistic debate over the ethics of broadcasting them at all). It's a combination of medical pseudo-science, arrogance, and obliviousness. Where could something like that be coming from?

Let's ask Gabriel Sherman:

Sources say that Trump is leaning toward telling at least some Americans to return to work after the 15-day social-distancing period ends on March 31. This puts Trump on a potential collision course with Fauci that many fear will end with Fauci being fired or quitting. “Fauci is the best medical expert we have. We can’t lose him,” a former White House official said. Signs of tension between Trump and Fauci have been emerging. Over the weekend, Fauci gave a series of candid interviews. “I’ve been telling the president things he doesn’t want to hear,” Fauci told Maureen Dowd. “I have publicly had to say something different with what he states. It’s a risky business.” Fauci told Science magazine: “When you’re dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things one, two, three, four times, and then it happens. So, I’m going to keep pushing.”

Trump’s view that he can ignore Fauci’s opinion may be influenced by advice he’s getting from Jared Kushner, whose outside-the-box efforts have often rankled those in charge of managing the crisis. According to two sources, Kushner has told Trump about experimental treatments he’s heard about from executives in Silicon Valley. “Jared is bringing conspiracy theories to Trump about potential treatments,” a Republican briefed on the conversations told me. Another former West Wing official told me: “Trump is like an 11-year-old boy waiting for the fairy godmother to bring him a magic pill.” (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)

What executives? Well, for starter, there's ...

Worth noting that Larry Ellison's previous medical research work — his foray into life-extension research, on which he spent hundreds of millions of dollars — is broadly seen as a scientific failure.

— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) March 25, 2020

 
What Ellison's disruptive visionary attitude here appears to be popular among his fellow tech billionaires. Elon Musk suggested the virus would turn out to be no worse than a bad cold, but the funniest exchanges have been coming from another member of the PayPal Mafia, Keith Rabois.

randomized controls are horrible ideas. largest impediment to progress in health spans.

— Keith Rabois (@rabois) March 25, 2020

It's possible that Keith Rabois is the dumbest, most over-confident piece of shit VC in the US today.

This kind of stuff is dangerous and wrong.

This is basic stats. If you don't randomize, you can't be sure the intervention you're testing actually drives the outcome. https://t.co/NkDXEF2JaP

— Zach Weinberg (@zachweinberg) March 25, 2020

with very large numbers of n’s you don’t need randomization.

— Keith Rabois (@rabois) March 25, 2020

at some level of n, you avoid bias because of the real world. that is the whole point. in cardiology, there is a vigorous debate about whether statins induce memory loss even though no double blind study has confirmed it.

— Keith Rabois (@rabois) March 25, 2020

Rabois, of course, had a sharp comeback for his critics

that is utter nonsense. someone is obviously jelaous of my success.

— Keith Rabois (@rabois) March 25, 2020